Deep Water Perils in Kyrgyzstan
Tourists visiting Lake Issykkul, Kyrgyzstan’s main holiday destination, are on their own if they venture out into the water, and drownings are common.
Deep Water Perils in Kyrgyzstan
Tourists visiting Lake Issykkul, Kyrgyzstan’s main holiday destination, are on their own if they venture out into the water, and drownings are common.
Reporter Rita Borbukeeva says 18 people drowned in the lake in 2008, and 22 the previous year.
In the absence of trained lifeguards at the lakeside resorts, the only help available to swimmers who get into difficulties is from the boys who hire out boats on the shore. Police say it is not legal for them to be made to play this role.
Kyrgyzstan’s emergencies minister Kamchybek Tashiev acknowledges that not enough has been done, but says a first aid and lifeguard training centre will open in the town of Cholpon-Ata by the end of May.
